5 ways to make your fragrance last longer

Wearing perfume is a tricky balancing act: you either douse yourself in the stuff so everyone can smell it – including the man two streets over – or you elegantly spritz your neck and wrists, only to have the scent disappear quicker than your resolve when faced with a slice of chocolate cake.

However, your fragrance can remain fresher for longer if you take these simple steps.

1. Build fragrance layers

Many fragrances have shower gel and body lotion versions. Treat yourself to the set and you’ll find your perfume will last longer as you’ll use less of it.

The gel and lotion will have a more subtle scent than the perfume, but by building up the scent layers and letting the particles soak into your skin, your fragrance will keep going even after your perfume has worn off.

2. Soak it all up

The best time to spray yourself with perfume is when you are fresh out of the shower. The water droplets will lock in the scent particles and soak them into your skin.

If you’re in a rush and don’t have time for a shower, apply Vaseline to your pulse points before spritzing with perfume, as this will hold onto the scent, preventing the particles from disappearing into the air.

3. Spray strategically

The first pulse points most people go for are the wrists and neck, but there’s also the inside of the elbows, backs of the knees and the ankles.

Your midriff is also a surprisingly good spot to spritz, as it’s warm and central, so it will spread the fragrance around your body.

A good idea is to spray your stomach and neck, then lightly spritz your ankles and backs of the knees so that your fragrance rises throughout the day.

If you do spray your wrists, be sure not to press them together to distribute the scent, as this actually crushes the top-note particles, distorting the smell and stopping it from lasting as long.

4. Ensure your clothes smell fresh

There’s no point in putting all this effort in only to mask your favourite fragrance with musty-smelling clothes. Even if your laundry comes out smelling fresh, it often doesn’t last once it’s hung out in your wardrobe for a while.

However you can ensure your clothes smell “mmmm” for up to 12 weeks with Lenor Unstoppables in-wash scent booster. It’s available in five fragrances – Bliss, Fresh, Uplift, Lavish and new scent Dreams – so you can pick the one that has similar notes to your perfume so that they complement one another.

5. Touch up throughout the day

Rather than carry your bottle of perfume around with you, a nifty trick is to spray some cotton buds with it and keep them in a sandwich bag in your handbag. Then, whenever you want a touch-up, just take a cotton ball and smooth it over your pulse points.